


The cat and the quiet one

by Fleur_de_Violette



Series: The cat and the bats [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alfred the cat is a cat, Cassandra Cain Needs a Hug, Cassandra Cain loves her family, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24978109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fleur_de_Violette/pseuds/Fleur_de_Violette
Summary: During a gala, Cass found a hiding place inside a wardrobe. She wasn’t alone.
Relationships: Alfred the Cat & Cassandra Cain
Series: The cat and the bats [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648072
Kudos: 20





	The cat and the quiet one

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I hope you’re well, and I hope you’ll enjoy the story.

Galas were loud. Loud, and full of people that expected her to talk. Galas were exhausting. 

Usually Cass found a way to hide behind her siblings or friends, with either Dick or Steph talking enough for the two of them. But today, Steph had been held up by a college class and couldn’t come. Dick and Barbara had taken upon themselves to entertain the journalist crew, which would probably start another rumor about them dating, and were thus unapproachable. Tim was in an intense looking discussion with a scientist she thought had gotten a price of some kind recently, and she didn’t feel like interrupting him. Damian was surrounded by a bunch of ladies with expansive looking jewelry, stiff by their father’s side. Bruce was smiling, charming as ever yet every ounce of his body language screaming for a way out of it. Neither Jason Duke nor Harper had bothered to come, as not being officially adopted or being officially dead prevented them from the horror of galas. 

Cass wasn’t one to run away. Well, at least BlackBat wasn’t. But Cassandra Cain-Wayne, adopted daughter of billionaire Bruce Wayne, had found her way inside the front door wardrobe where all the guests’ coats were hanging. She felt better in here. There were fewer people here, so fewer threats. Because it was one of the parts that tired her. She was pretty sure none of her brothers analyzed each and every person in the room, ready to react if something happened. Of course, they never let their guard down, and Bruce did it too, to some extent, but not as much as her. She couldn’t help it. It was what she was taught to do, what she was made for. 

So here she was, hiding in the wardrobe, in the middle of the coats. She was hoping no one would bother looking for her until after the guests were gone. Her family would probably understand. They never intentionally forced her into a situation she wasn’t comfortable with. The thought of her family made her smile. It has been years, and she still couldn’t really gasp the whole concept of it. That she as a place, not just as a fighter, but as a human being too. She was BlackBat, and they loved BlackBat. But she was also Cassandra Cain, and they loved Cassandra Cain. 

Cassandra Cain was worth loving too. It was a weird thing to think about. A hard thing to accept. It made her feel warm inside. 

A furry thing touched her leg, the same warmness now spreading outside. 

She froze. She never jumped when scared or surprised, she’d been trained better than that. Instead she slowed her breathing and stayed as still as a statue. She made herself look like she was just one of the coats. An inanimate object. 

All her senses sharpened until she assessed the treat, who definitely wasn’t one. 

How did she fail to notice Damian’s cat in the wardrobe before entering, she had no idea. She thought, for one second, about how much of a disappointment it would be for her father and trainer, what kind of punishment she would have to endure, cold panic taking over, before she calmed down. 

It’s been years since she last saw David Cain. She had another father now, another family. Things weren’t perfect, not by a long shot, but she was safe. She was just hiding from a gala in a wardrobe, and she wouldn’t get in trouble for it.

It crossed her mind that the cat was probably doing the exact same thing. Her little brother had once explained to her that cats were prey and predator animals at the same time meaning they often got scared of larger animals who made a lot of noises. Like dogs, or the vacuum cleaner. Or, in that case, gala guests. 

The black-and-white cat at her feet never had a problem with neither Titus nor Ace, but he was a little weary around the vacuum cleaner. She could guess he didn’t like gala guests either. 

That would make two of them. Both of them predators and prey at the same time. 

Cassandra didn’t like to think of herself as a prey. She was a bat, and bats were a nightmare for insects. But bats were food for snakes, owls, and even, she thought with a smile, cats. Selina rarely missed an occasion to remind it to their father. 

She absently patted the cat head, scratching his cheeks and throat. The animal reacted immediately, purring loudly and moving his head to show her how to pet him. 

In a combat situation, the noise would have been a big problem. She would have done anything to make it stop, to prevent them from being spotted. Now, it was just comforting.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the pleasure she was giving to the cat. She had never learned to read body language on animals the same way she could with humans, but the cat wasn’t hiding his joy, making it easy to understand. 

They weren’t fighting, and her hands weren’t doing harm.

She knew, realistically, that her hands, her body, her strength could be used for good. To protect people. But even as BlackBat, she was still protecting by harming. To help victims, she had to beat up criminals. In the end, she was still hurting people. 

But right then, with the cat, the hands that had hurt, that had killed, weren’t harming anyone. They were pleasing to the cat, giving happiness. 

Helping. 

Cass would probably stay in the wardrobe until after the end of the gala.

After that, she thought, she might come back inside it. Just to see the cat. 

**Author's Note:**

> It’s a little less cute and a little sadder than I planned it to be, but I hope you enjoyed anyway! Have a nice day!


End file.
